'Sugarcane' and the dark history of Indigenous residential schools

WAMU 88.5 | By Arfie Ghedi

Published August 19, 2024 at 8:54 AM EDT

Flowers, shoes, and moccasins sit on the steps of the main entrance of The Mohawk Institute, a former residential school for First Nation kids, to honor the 215 children who's remains were recently discovered in a mass grave, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

In May of 2021, archaeologists discovered over 200 unmarked graves at an Indigenous residential school in Canada. The discovery exposed the dark history of systemic abuse faced by Canada’s Indigenous community.

At least 150,000 Indigenous children attended these schools . For decades, theywereremoved from their homes and families and held in institutions run by the Catholic church and Canadian government.

“Sugarcane” is a new documentary that follows one of those schools – St. Joseph’s Mission near the Sugarcane Reservation of Williams Lake in British Columbia. We speak with the film’s directors.

In this story, we discuss some of the abuse suffered by the survivors of Indigenous boarding schools. You can find a list of mental health resources from the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition in the U.S. here. And a reminder that the 988 crisis line is available 24/7 by phone or at 988lifeline.org.